Eighty-seven people died on Utah highways so far this year — down seven from the same period a year ago.
The Utah Department of Transportation held a news conference Wednesday to announce the numbers with a backdrop of 87 prop markers in the lawn of the Calvin Rampton Building that houses UDOT.
This count concludes what UDOT refers to as the 100 deadliest days — running through the end-of-summer Labor Day holiday.
Among the statistic emphasized by highway and safety officials: about one-third of the fatal crashes involved people who had not been using seat belts.